A 15-year loan term has many advantages, although it may appear to be expensive because of the higher monthly amortization. However, a shorter loan term assures you that you’ll be free from this burden before or at the time of retirement and save thousands of dollars. Consider having your loan restructured to a shorter loan term.
Benefits of a Shorter Loan Term
The prospect of spending 30 years paying back a mortgage is discouraging. If you have 20 years remaining on your loan, the option to shorten your loan term to 15 can be tempting. Taking away 5 years from a 20-year loan means a higher monthly bill, but freedom from the mortgage after 15 years instead of 20 is definitely more appealing. But if it’s only a matter of a few hundred dollars more, why not? Never mind if you’ll be paying a higher monthly bill.
You’ll be saving thousands of dollars from interests alone with the five years knocked off from the 20-year loan term. Another benefit is building your home equity faster. A refinance mortgage loan offers the chance to restructure your terms.
What’s Involved
For a home mortgage, the lender will pull your credit record to check if you’ve been paying your debts on time. You’ll also be paying the fees involved before, during, and after your loan is processed.
The lender will assess all the information to evaluate if you are a good risk for a shorter loan term. If you’re dealing with the same lender, the process won’t be as rigorous and as lengthy like it would be if you go to a new lender.
It’s a fact that lenders prefer long-term mortgages because it rakes in more profits. To counter loss in future profits, lenders penalize borrowers for paying their mortgage ahead of term. This is why prospective borrowers should always inquire if the lender charges prepayment penalties.
Assuming that your lender does not charge penalties on prepayment, you have to contend instead with the closing costs for your refinance mortgage loan.
Others get a refinance mortgage loan to switch to a short term interest only loan. They are banking on the equity of the house and intend to sell it in the near future. The proceeds of the sale will go to the interest and they can still have extra money from the profit. In your case, you’re looking at the full ownership of your home in a shorter time.
For a new loan, you can decide if you want a fixed rate mortgage or an ARM. An online calculator can compute how much you’re going to pay the monthly bill in 15 years’ time. From the calculations, you’ll be able to determine the feasibility of a short term ARM or fixed rate refinance mortgage loan.
Short Term or Long Term?
A short term, or traditional loan, will always depend on your financial situation and future plans. A short-term refi is ideal now that interest rates are low. You’ll be surprised that you’ll be paying the same monthly fee as your first mortgage, so there’s not much of a change in the monthly bills. The prospect of paying off your loan in 15 years, however, is imminent. For those who feel secure with the stability of the traditional 30-year loan term, switching from an ARM to a fixed rate refinance mortgage loan is recommended.
By: Rony Walker
Posts Tagged ‘Retirement’
Refinance Mortgage Loan – Shorten Your Loan Term
March 7th, 2010Refinance Home Loan – Benefits You Do Not Know
December 7th, 2009
When the borrower on a home mortgage has come to a position where the terms of the original loan are unacceptable, or more expensive than they need be, given the current economic condition, the borrower sometimes chooses to refinance home loan. In this situation, the original loan is paid off and the loan is replaced with a new loan the terms of which can be similar or can be quite different. In many ways, a refinance loan is like a brand new loan obtained from scratch since the loan equity, appraised value and capacity to repay must be approved by the lender.
Smaller payments
When you decided to refinance home loan, you may be able to structure the loan in such a way as to receive payments that are smaller. This can be very beneficial if your goal is to tighten your belt due to a reduction in income. Sometimes those who are entering retirement years will desire to stay in the same home, but will be living on reduced income, so prefer to reduce expenses to match. Smaller payments on a refinance may be due to a better interest rate that can be gained. If interest rates have dropped enough to offset the refinance loan fees added to a new loan, you may be smart to refinance.
Longer repayment time
One of the benefits that can be arranged when you refinance home loan is taking longer to repay the debt. This is desirable if you want to obtain a larger loan in order to pull out some cash at the time of closing. It may be for the purpose of lowering your monthly payment. Spreading out the same size loan over more years means that the interest paid will be greater, but the payment made will be more manageable in size for the homeowner.
Fixed payment
Another benefit that many borrowers find when refinance home loan with a fixed rate option is that the repayment amount remains the same from month to month. If the proceeds from the home loan have been used to get cash out, it is likely to be cheaper than obtaining personal loans, or maxing out the balances on the credit cards. Once the loan is set, the payment amount remains the same from month to month throughout the course of the loan.
Pay off debts
When you receive cash out amount as part of the home loan refinance, there are many uses for the lump sum cash. You can pay off troublesome debts, particularly those with large interest rates. This will free up available cash for your living expenses or that you can apply to pay down other debts. A refinance can allow you to pay for future expenses as well, such as covering college tuition costs for yourself or for family members. You can use the funds to renovate or do major repairs on the home that you live in. You may even use the funds to take a long desired vacation or holiday trip.
By: Alan Lim